Arts & Culture

This year's Greater Lehigh Valley Film Festival will feature 27 short films by some of the areas greatest talent, as well as student pieces from The Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts.

311, which blends rock, reggae, hip hop and funk, is making a stop in Bethlehem in June. The Decemberists also are slated to perform at the venue in late July.

Judy Collins, best known for her 1968 hit "Both Sides Now" and 1975's "Send in the Clowns," will perform at 7:30 p.m. July 20.

Fiesta on Hamilton will take over Hamilton Street from 9th Street to 11th Street 1 to 7 p.m. May 18, the Chamber announced.

O.A.R., which most recently played Musikfest in a co-headline show with Goo Goo Dolls in 2023, will perform at the event center at 8 a.m. Aug. 21.

The Black Keys, best known for its double-platinum hits "Lonely Boy" and "Gold on the Ceiling," will headline Musikfest's Steel Stage on Aug. 10.

WWE was once a near-annual staple in Allentown and throughout the Lehigh Valley. But the company has not returned since a holiday tour stop in 2023.

Celtic Thunder, known for its eclectic, theatrical show, backed by the Celtic Thunder Band, will bring a brand-new show, "An Intimate Evening with Celtic Thunder," to Easton's State Theatre. The group will perform at Saturday, Sept. 13.

SangriaFest, which includes food, vendors, lawn games, live music and, of course, the namesake wine-and-fruit beverage, will be 2 p.m. June 21 on the SteelStacks campus in Bethlehem.

The free expo is now in its seventh year and will occur from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 15, at Penn State Lehigh Valley.

The Young Playwrights' Festival features scripts written by 13 elementary and middle school students from Bethlehem. The show will take place on Sunday at Northeast Middle School.

Mi Casa Restaurante in Easton serves traditional dishes from Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico.

The Coopersburg Farmer Market will be open on Sundays starting June 2 through Oct. 27.

J&J Demolition Derby, a Labor Day mainstay at Allentown Fairgrounds, will return to the fair for its closing-night grandstand entertainment offering on Sept. 2.

Blippi, whose energetic and educational antics have made him a global sensation, will bring his live show Blippi: The Wonderful World Tour to the fair on Aug. 29.

As the Pennsylvania Youth Theatre seeks a new home, the students will put on a rendition of "Wizard of Oz" at Zoellner Arts Center at Lehigh University later this week.

Easton Public Market will celebrate its eighth anniversary on Friday, May 17, with a special party featuring vendors, the band A Few Good Men, and a fundraiser benefiting Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital.

The rise of streaming platforms and labor unrest in Hollywood has forced Roxy Theatre in Northampton to change its business model. It started airing first-run films for the first time on Friday.

Christopher Sipos remembers his late-grandmother's love of birds but was pleasantly surprised to find her collection of antique baking soda trading cards that feature the feathered beauties.

Rockers Orgy, with opening act Cold, will play at 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 17, at Maingate Nightclub in Allentown. Tickets, at $25 in advance and $30 day of show, are available at maingatenightclub.com

Student groups fueled a good opening day for the park compared to typical rainy spring days

Kutztown University's jazz ensemble was recognized by DownBeat magazine for Outstanding Performance in its Student Music Awards. It's the 10th win for Kutztown's commercial music program but the first for the jazz ensemble.